On May 18, 2017, at the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC” or “Commission”) May Open Meeting, the Commission adopted, on a two-one vote, a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”), titled “Restoring Internet Freedom,” that would negate and replace the Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order, which the NPRM refers to as the “Title II Order.” This action begins a process that re-ignites differences between the Republicans and lone Democrat on the Commission, and signals that the effort to repeal the rules will be bumpy. View Full Post

On Thursday, April 13, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or the “Commission”) announced the results of its broadcast incentive auction. The FCC raised approximately $19.8 billion through the auction. While the gross revenues were considerably less than the nearly $45 billion the Commission raised in 2015 from the Advanced Wireless Services 3 (“AWS-3”) auction, the spectrum incentive auction still had one of the highest grossing auction results in agency history. View Full Post

On Thursday February 23, 2017, by a 2-1 vote, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to restore the Small Provider Exemption from the Commission’s Open Internet rules, and to expand the exemption to cover more BIAS providers.
In the 2015 Open Internet Order, the FCC adopted enhanced transparency disclosure requirements for Internet service providers by requiring providers to disclose promotional rates, all fees and/or surcharges, all data caps and allowances, and additional network performance metrics (e.g., packet loss). View Full Post

On Thursday, February 23, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a pair of forfeiture orders against pirate radio operators. Each was subject to a $25,000 fine for allegedly continually operating unlicensed radio stations in violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act. View Full Post

Yesterday, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau reached a $2.3 million settlement with Comcast Corporation (Comcast) to resolve an investigation into whether Comcast wrongfully charged cable TV customers for services and equipment that those customers never authorized. View Full Post